Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Eastern mole'

The study was looking at achieving more cost-effective implementation of the Eastern Cape Thicket Rehabilitation Project. Project management has been identified as a key for a proper implementation of any kind of work. For project management to be effective, individual learning and development of project managers is of paramount importance. An improved communication process is vital, that clearly specifies objectives if any success will be achieved. A proper and structural way of addressing change is a need, so that no unnecessary delays are experienced. A need is there for processes to be streamlined to avoid duplications as they are unnecessary costs. Employees need to be given an opportunity to have their ideas looked at, a way of testing if they really have been empowered. The important thing is that their views must speak to the standards of the project. Reductions in costs are a must for more communities to benefit in the project. Continuous improvement is the way forward.

Interactions between insects have been shown to be important regulators of population abundances and dynamics as well as drivers of spatial segregation and distribution. These are important aspects of the ecology of insects used in biological control and may have implications for the overall success of a particular programme. In the history of biological control there has been a tendency to release a suite of agents against a weed, which in some cases has increased the level of success, while in others little change has been observed. In most of these cases the implications of increasing the level of complexity of the system is not taken into account and there is little research on the effect of releasing another agent into the system. A brief meta-analysis was done on all the biological control programmes initiated in South Africa. Emphasis was placed on multi-species releases and the effects that overlapping niches were having on the number of agents responsible for the success of a programme. Where overlapping niches were present among agents released the number of agents responsible for success was lower than the number established. Water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes (Martius) Solms-Laubach in South Africa has more arthropod agents released against it than anywhere else in the world, yet control has been variable. If the biology and host utilisation of all the agents against water hyacinth is considered, a definite overlap of niches is apparent in at least one life stage of all the agents. Therefore the probability of these insects interacting is high, especially if they are established at the same site in the field. Three of the insects released in South Africa have been selected to investigate possible interactions. They are Neochetina eichhorniae Warner, Neochetina bruchi Hustache and Eccritotarsus catarinensis (Carvalho). Y-tube olfactometer bioassays were used to measure responses of these insects to water hyacinth with prior feeding damage by either conspecifics or heterospecifics. This was done to determine whether olfactory cues played a role in host acceptability and avoidance of conspecifics or heterospecifics. The insects were given a choice between damaged and undamaged plants in various combinations. There was a significant preference for the undamaged plants when given a choice between undamaged and damaged plants. However when the insects were given a choice between two damaged plants there was no discrimination between heterospecific or conspecific damaged plants. This may indicate that there is little or no ecological cost for the insect to share a plant with other insects utilising a similar resource. Insect – insect interactions were investigated in a common garden plot experiment to measure the impact that pairwise combinations of the insect may have on their performance. There was a significant interaction between the mirid E. catarinensis and the weevil N. eichhorniae, with the weevil not performing as well when in combination with the mirid than when alone. Interestingly there was a negative interaction between the two weevil species when in combination, however it was impossible to determine which species was being affected if not both. None of the insects performed significantly better when in combination with another insect. A field study on Wriggleswade Dam in the Eastern Cape, South Africa was initiated to determine whether the relationship between the mirid E. catarinensis and the weevil N. eichhorniae could be determined in the field. The performance of the insects at the different sites in the field suggests that there was an interaction between the agents. This interaction did not limit the establishment of either insect at a site, but it did result in one insect dominating at a site over another. Interactions between the three species of insect tested in this thesis suggest that there are both negative and neutral relationships between them. A basic comparison between the insect performances from 15 sites around the country was done to determine if the spatial segregation observed in the field could be extrapolated to the natural South African situation. The interaction observed between N. eichhorniae and E. catarinensis does seem to extrapolate to the general South African situation where there is definite spatial segregation on a landscape level. The co–occurrence of the two Neochetina weevils at these sites suggests that the negative relationship observed between them in the common garden experiment does not extrapolate to the field. The results from this thesis suggest that the interactions between the agents tested would not limit establishment or have significant ramifications on performance. However, there may be spatial and temporal segregation of these species in the introduced range.

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that of all the live births per year no more than 10-15% of these should be delivered by caesarean section. Despite this recommendation there has been a global increase in the percentage of caesarean section deliveries over the past few decades. In South Africa the percentage is as high as 70% in certain health care institutions which is of concern to midwives. Caesarean section deliveries are needed when the life of the baby, mother or both are at stake. However, this method of delivery bears more disadvantages than advantages to the baby and mother. Despite these disadvantages, some women request a caesarean section in their birth plans while others are influenced by health professionals to request a caesarean section. Therefore, there is a need for labouring women to be guided where possible to have vaginal birth because of its many advantages. This study sought to explore and describe the perceptions of the midwives regarding their role in facilitating the choice of delivery mode for labouring women in public hospitals and midwifery obstetric units (MOUs) of the Nelson Mandela Bay and Sarah Baartman districts. Based on the results of the study, guidelines for midwives in this role were developed. Maputle’sWoman-Centred Childbirth Model (2010) was used as the theoretical lens through which this study was viewed. The researcher selected a quantitative survey design using an explorative, descriptive and contextual research approach. The population consisted of midwives who were working in labour wards at public hospitals and midwife-led MOUs. A non-probability convenience sample was used to collect data using a structured, self-administered questionnaire. The reliability and validity of the data collection instrument were ensured by using various means including a pre-test and an expert panel. Altogether, 300 questionnaires were distributed and 288 were returned. This number excluded the pilot study. Data was collected over a period of three months using the assistance of two fieldworkers. Data was captured and analysed under the supervision of the statistician and supervisors. Analysis was done by means of descriptive analyses that involved the production of frequencies and presented using charts, figures and tables. The major findings of the study are: -The midwives perceived themselves as the main facilitators of a suitable decision by the labouring woman for a safe delivery method - The midwives emphasised the importance of the delivery position preferred by the labouring woman -The midwives indicated that a collaboration between doctors, senior midwives, midwives and midwives in management positions could assist with a decision for a suitable delivery mode option. -The midwives agreed that the culture of the labouring woman should be considered when deciding on a delivery mode and therefore midwifery curriculum should include lessons about cultural diversity. Three principal guidelines were developed, namely: 1. Create an environment that promotes acceptance of a woman’s choice of a delivery mode. 2. Create an environment promoting a collaborative health care relationship 3. Create an environment that is sensitive to cultural needs in the maternity unit Ethical considerations in this study were upheld by maintaining the principles of beneficence, maleficence, autonomy and justice.

In his assessment of the theory development within international market entry mode, Cumberland (2006) outlines the importance of devoting more attention to the research linking the theoretical level and the operational level. Other researchers have shown the performance of a firm is highly affected by its internationalisation process and selecting the right entry mode is one of the most critical managerial decisions. Despite many years of interest from researchers, the entry choice strategy area is still considered a frontier issue. Researchers have suggested that managing risk is one of the major strategic objectives for managers of multinational firms. Furthermore, risk is regarded as a key determinant in relation to entry mode choice. Research has found that the various risk variables should be regarded as an integrated measure in relation to entry mode choice and not single measures. By looking at a single risk variable, the firm might analyse the situation incorrectly, which may lead to an incorrect entry mode. This study investigates the relationship between entry mode choice, perceived risk and risk tolerance for Danish firms entering Central and Eastern Europe by using a probabilistic model. The results indicate risk should be regarded as an integrated measure in relation to entry mode. Despite not all risk variables showing significant correlation with entry mode, some relations were found. The preferred model for predicting entry mode included years of CEE experience, number of competitors, cultural difference, consumer taste and future market potential. In addition, the analysis showed that Danish firms generally are relatively risk averse. Regardless of entry mode, the analysis showed that Danish firms regard CEE as politically stable and do not see a potential risk in government involvement in their activities. Furthermore, Danish firms experience relatively high and increasing competition in CEE, however, they indicate the same methods are available for marketing in CEE as in Denmark.

This study investigates if and to what extent there is a statistically significant predictive relationship between cultural distance, and its subfactors (power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism/collectivism, and masculinity/femininity), and entry mode by Western Europe MNE into Eastern Asia. Using transaction cost economic theory, the quantitative study with a predictive correlational design was conducted on 490 cross-border mergers and acquisitions by MNE from seven Western European countries entering five Eastern Asian countries from 2005 to 2015. Data for the entry mode criterion was obtained from SDC platinum and Hofstede?s cultural dimensions were used as predictors. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted on entry mode and cultural distance as a construct, and hierarchical multiple regression was conducted on entry mode and four cultural dimensions. The findings indicate that cultural distance has an inverted U-shaped predictive relationship with entry mode, R2 = .024, p = .001. As cultural distance increases MNE managers tend to use a higher equity entry mode until reaching a point after which any further increase in cultural distance a lower equity entry mode was used. It was also found that uncertainty avoidance has a positive predictive relationship with entry mode, R2 = .010, F(1, 488) = 5.157, p = .024, B = .034, p = .024. Additionally, entry mode is best predicted by a model with uncertainty avoidance and power distance, R2 = .022, p = .004. These findings indicate that using unindexed cultural dimensions may also demonstrate a significantly predictive relationship while providing additional contextual information than can be found with an indexed cultural distance construct.

The arid conditions found in the west allow for the production of high quality hay for export. However, hay production in this region is highly dependent upon irrigation. There is significant interest in developing a hay export market in the eastern U.S. Therefore, a greater understanding of the challenges and opportunities with containerizing hay in high humidity environments is needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of hay preservatives on the stability of containerized hay. Treatments included 1) propionic acid at baling, 2) propiopnic acid at baling + surface applied propionic acid at container loading, 3) propionic acid at baling + ammonization of the container after loading, and 4) no preservatives. Propionic acid was applied at a rate of 2.5 kg Mg-1 of hay at baling to all treatments except the control. Hay was then stored for 5 weeks before compressing to a density of 320.0 kg m-3. Immediately before containerizing hay, treatment 2 received a surface application of propionic acid at a rate of 3.4 g bale-1. After loading hay into containers, treatment 3 was ammoniated at a rate of 1.5 kg NH3 Mg-1 DM. Temperature and relative humidity in the containers were monitored for the 45-day storage period. Hay was sampled at compression and immediately after opening the containers. There were no treatment effects on nutritive value parameters after containerization (P > 0.05). Neither propionic acid at harvest, nor treatments at containerization had an effect on mold development in this study (P > 0.05).
Master of Science

Seasonal hydrologic extremes such as drought and floods have devastating impacts on human and natural systems (e.g. 2015-2017 Western Cape drought). Sentence has been reworded to: Therefore, the need for a reliable seasonal hydrologic forecast is significant and becoming even more urgent under future climate, as the assimilation of seasonal forecast information in decision making. Hence, SHF becomes part of the short and long-term climate change adaptation strategies in a range of contexts such as energy supply, water supply and management, rural-urban, agriculture, infrastructure and disaster preparedness and relief. This work deals with implementation and evaluation of the Pitman/Water Resources Simulation Model 2012 model (WR2012) in seasonal hydrological forecasting mode. The aim of the study is to improve the understanding of seasonal hydrological forecasting by evaluating the performance of a hydrological model (Pitman Model) in the seasonal forecast mode in Kraai River tertiary catchment (D13) as a case study and the objectives are: To determine steps to be undertaken to implement integration of Pitman in WR2012 configuration with climate forecast to generate seasonal hydrological forecast and to evaluate the performance of the model forced by climate model data in the simulation and forecast mode. Pitman model in the WR2012 version works with a specific rainfall dataset spanning the period of 1920-2009. Operationalizing the seasonal hydrological forecast with Pitman model requires, therefore, updating of the WR2012 rainfall so that it extends to-date. To achieve that, two datasets were evaluated: Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station Data (CHIRPS), which is a satellite-based gridded rainfall dataset, and rain gauge-based dataset from South African Weather Service (SAWS). The analyses revealed that CHIRPS rainfall data had better correlation and lower bias with respect to the WR2012 data when compared with SAWS rainfall data for the overlap period 1981-2009. The CHIRPS data showed no significant difference from the WR2012 in all the three rainfall zones of the Kraai River catchment. Therefore, CHIRPS data were used to extend the WR2012 data and were used as input to set up Pitman model/WR2012 in the seasonal hydrological forecasting mode. The Pitman/WR2012 model was forced with 10 ensemble seasonal climate forecast from Climate Forecast Systems v.2 which is downscaled using the Principal Components Regression (PCR) approach. The generated seasonal hydrological forecast focused on the summer season, in particular on the Dec-Jan-Feb (DJF) period, which is the rainy season in the catchment. The hydrological forecast showed skills more especially in Dec and Feb (assessed through ROC and RPSS forecast verification methods) with Jan having a poor skill. Importantly, the skill of streamflow forecast was better than that of rainfall forecast, which likely results from the influence of initial conditions of the hydrological model. In conclusion Pitman/WR2012 model can perform realistically when implemented in seasonal hydrological forecasts mode, and it is important that in that model, the model is run with near real time rainfall data in order to achieve good initial conditions. However, the results in terms of forecast skill are specific to the studied catchment and analysed forecast, and skill of forecast in any other catchment has to be investigated separately.

Book Summary: This work is the fourth Small Wars Journal anthology focusing on radical Sunni Islamic terrorists and insurgent groups. It covers this professional journals writings for 2016 and is a compliment to the earlier Global Radical Islamist Insurgency anthologies that were produced as Vol. I: 2007-2011 (published in 2015) and Vol. II: 2012-2014 (published in 2016) and Jihadi Terrorism, Insurgency, and the Islamic State spanning 2015 (published in 2017). This anthology, which offers well over 900 pages of focused analysis, follows the same general conceptual breakdown as the earlier works and is divided into two major thematic sectionsone focusing on Al Qaeda and Islamic state activities in 2016 and the other focusing on US-Allied policies and counterinsurgent strategies.

Die Dissertation befasst sich mit den Reformprozessen, die sich vom Zeitpunkt des System-umbruchs 1989/90 bis zum EU-Beitritt 2004 in den Ministerialverwaltungen Estlands und Polens vollzogen haben. Die Veränderungen, die während dieser Zeit stattfanden, standen im Spannungsfeld zweier Prozesse: des von innenpolitischen Erfordernissen geprägten Transformationsprozesses und des Europäisierungsprozesses, in dem die EU als einflussreicher externer Akteur hinzutrat. Konzeptionell greift die Untersuchung auf die Diskussionen aus der institutionellen Transformationsforschung und die Debatten um die Europäisierung von Regierungs- und Verwaltungssystemen zurück. Die Arbeit konzentriert sich auf die Veränderungen auf der zentralstaatlichen Ebene und betrachtet diese Veränderungen in ihrer horizontalen und sektoralen Dimension. Die horizontale Dimension umfasst Rahmenbedingungen des Verwaltungssystems insgesamt, dies sind zentrale Strukturen des Regierungsapparates, die regierungsinternen Koordinationsmechanismen und die Etablierung des öffentlichen Dienstes. In der sektoralen Dimension wird die Verwaltung im Politikfeld Landwirtschaft betrachtet. In beiden Ländern gab es einen gemeinsamen Ausgangspunkt der Entwicklungen, das sozialistische Verwaltungssystem, und einen ähnlichen Zielpunkt der Verwaltungsreformen in den 1990er Jahren: eine wie auch immer definierte „moderne Verwaltung“. Auch die Rahmenbedingungen des EU-Integrationsprozesses in Mittelosteuropa lassen eher Konvergenzen erwarten. Doch spielen nationale politische Konstellationen eine entscheidende Rolle für die Entwicklungen, so dass man bilanzierend sagen kann: Estland und Polen haben mit Beginn der Transformation unterschiedliche nationale Entwicklungspfade eingeschlagen und ihre Verwaltungssysteme unterscheiden sich mittlerweile stärker voneinander als zur Zeit des Sozialismus.
The dissertation is concerned with transformation of ministerial administrations in Estonia and Poland between 1989/90 and EU accession in 2004. Two processes, the transformation process largely determined by domestic politics and the Europeanisation process with the EU entering the arena as a powerful external actor, influenced changes during this period. The theoretical background of the study refers to institutionalist approaches in transformation research and debates on Europeanisation of governmental and administrative systems. The study focuses on developments on central state level, which are analysed in a horizontal and a sectoral dimension. The horizontal dimension covers the framework of the administra-tive system, as there are structures of central state government, coordination mechanisms within government and the establishment of a civil service. In the sectoral dimension administrative structures in agricultural administration are examined. Both countries share a common point of origin, the socialist administrative system and a simi-lar point of arrival, a “modern” administration, however the latter may be defined. The conditions of the EU integration process also lead to the assumption of convergent developments. But in national political constellations have a decisive impact on developments. As a résumé it can be stated that Estonia and Poland entered different national paths of development from the outset of transformation and administrative systems by now differ in a larger degree than in socialist times.

Excerpt: On May 21, 2016 a 31-minute audio file by Islamic State Organization (ISO) chief spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani (real name: Taha Sobhi Falaha) was uploaded by the ISO’s Al Furqan Media outlet onto the internet.

As the COVID-19 pandemic brought fear and anxiety to people around the world, the Christian community is called to give witness to her hope in the risen Lord. Preaching is a major channel of this witness. The analysis of five Easter sermons, preached in April 2020 by pastors of the Protestant Church in the Netherlands, brings to the fore how an alarming contextual situation weighs in on the tone and content of Easter preaching in local churches. A lamenting mode of preaching was found, that voices local communities’ distress and strengthens hope, repeating the salvific message of Easter in the face of bewilderment and suffering. The analysis underscores and adds to homiletical theory on lament in preaching.

碩士
臺北市立大學
歷史與地理學系
104
Abstract The sustainment of Eastern Jin Dynasty is based on the support from the aristocratic families and the political operation of Eastern Jin Dynasty is named as Aristocratic Family Politic by the academics. The succession to the throne is also influenced by the political reality and accordingly, the succession is not simply the transfer of power, but the result of the balance of politic. For example, among the 11 emperors of the Dynasty, only 5 of them succeed to the throne as prince; more than half of the emperors succeed as the King of Langya. The succession system is divided into two systems as the system of prince and the system of King of Langya; the binary system features the power structure of the Dynasty. The study aims to explore the right of succession of the two systems and probes into the roles of noble families in the process. Keywords: Eastern Jin Dynasty, Succession to the throne, Imperial power, Prince, King of Langya

碩士
長庚大學
化工與材料工程研究所
94
The "Tennessee Eastman Process" was provided by Downs and Vogel in 1993. Several researchers have utilized this TE process to evaluate plantwide process control approaches. There are six operating modes in the TE process. How to operate the mode from one to another was discussed in the MPC control systems, but it was never discussed in the multiple single-inupt-single-ouput control loops. The purpose of this study is to treat the mode transition control in the multiple single-inupt-single-ouput control loops. Most of the chemical processes belong to multivariate systems. Although using PID with RGA pairing and the decoupler can handle these problems, the control results are not good enough, and the tuning algorithms often depend on operators’ experience. In this direction, this study will modify the proposed mode transition control system by applying other researchers’ design concepts to bring up a new plantwide control structure. The simulation results show that the new plantwide control structure can get better control performance.

碩士
元智大學
財務金融學程
99
This paper, tries to examine the effects of soft budget constraints problem on acquisition decisions in emerging markets in Eastern Asia from 2000 to 2009. If the manager knows the shareholders will provide more funds (i.e. soft budget constraint), he may expand firm’s business scope by M&As to lurk his bad performance. Thus the manager will pay higher price to compete with other acquirers to make M&As successful. This paper first identifies firms with soft budget constraint, then develops a simple model of acquisition premium that takes the soft budget constraint into account. The result shows that firms with the soft budget constraint problem have higher intention of M&As and will pay more especially in those countries with weak legal protection of investors.

碩士
長庚大學
化工與材料工程研究所
95
Abstract The "Tennessee Eastman process" was provided by Downs and Vogel in 1993. Several researchers have utilized this TE process to evaluate plantwide process control approaches. There are six operating modes in the Tennessee Eastman process. How to operate the mode from one to another is always an important topic. In this paper, we try to use important controlled variables of Tennessee Eastman process improved structure which McAvoy and so on proposed in 1995, and develop a model predictive control structure. We made Tennessee Eastman process mode transition and plant-wide control with the structure. The simulation results show that the proposed model predictive control structure can get satisfactory control performance in mode transition and the change of the most critical disturbance (IDV6) of the Tennessee Eastman process.

碩士
元智大學
管理碩士在職專班
104
In this paper, the configuration of enterprise resource group, use the business model to analyze the performance of the industry in recent years, Taiwan's functional and environmental focus for the development of textiles, the export commodity from the yarn, the textile fiber to the cotton material, the ready-made clothing and so on all has , who is currently Taiwan's textile industry mastered the functional advantages of raw materials and textile suppliers, Taiwan's textile industry, Far Eastern new century Corporation has a highly developed and innovative design capabilities, can believe in the niche market still accounted for a place. In addition, Far Eastern New Century Corporation addition to the technical capabilities continue to improve, but also began to take the whole process of service, to work together with customers from market trends, competitor analysis, product design and development to production of finished products, through this service, the customer tied tightly, make a difference, and a resilient customization process. The Far Eastern New Century Corporation and the strategic alliance within the Group, production of clothing worn wisdom, for application on medical care or exercise on great value and market opportunities. Outlook 2016 trend continued in motion, tamper-function type of goods and the Olympic theme, driven by the textile industry, the economy is still very concerned by the group.

碩士
長庚大學
化工與材料工程研究所
96
The "Tennessee Eastman Process" provided by Downs and Vogel in 1993 is a realistic simulation of an actual commercial process. Due to the confidential considerations, real components, some physical properties, and kinetic data in this TE program are modified for academic research and industrial training. It is known that there are six operating modes in the TE process for three different production mass ratios. Several researchers have utilized this TE process to evaluate optimal operating conditions and performance of their process flowsheets and control　structures. By studying the characteristics of different TE control schemes presented in the literature, this work first apply commercial process design simulators to setting reasonable TE process flowsheets. Different operating modes are then tested by steady-state simulations of this TE flowsheets designed by commercial simulators. Model transition control strategies proposed by Tu(2006) are then used to transfer the TE plant from one operating mode to other modes.